What do you do when your company is on “The Short List”? When this situation presents itself, it’s the business developer’s role to do the due diligence of follow up. The Short List is the top 2-4 choices a company has for a service provider. By the time you’ve made The Short List, the criteria a company is using to make their choice should be well known by you.
I’ve received information on that follow-up call that has left me stumped, not knowing where to go next with the conversation – especially if things are not leaning in our favor. My strategy is to prep myself with at least three questions before I pick up the phone. And BTW, being on the short list deserves a phone call to your contact, not an email.
Here’s a short list of questions I use in the follow-up process:
1. Where are you in the decision process?
2. Has anything changed since we last spoke?
3. What type of feedback have you received from your colleagues?
4. How are we faring against our competition?
5. Is there anything left for us to do to win this business?
Happy Selling!
